- Nik Antropov
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Nik Antropov 
Born February 18, 1980
Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakh SSR,
Soviet UnionHeight 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) Weight 245 lb (111 kg; 17 st 7 lb) Position Center/RW Shoots Left NHL team
Former teamsWinnipeg Jets
Toronto Maple Leafs
New York Rangers
Atlanta ThrashersNational team 
KazakhstanNHL Draft 10th overall, 1998
Toronto Maple LeafsPlaying career 1998–present Nikolai Aleksandrovich Antropov (Russian: Николай Александрович Антропов; born February 18, 1980) is a Kazakhstani-Canadian professional ice hockey forward for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He received Canadian citizenship in May, 2007.[1]
Contents
Playing career
Antropov was expected to be drafted early in the second round, but following a dominant season with Kaztsink-Torpedo Ust-Kamenogorsk in the second-tier of the Russian Superleague (RSL), including an international match against Iceland, in which he scored 11 goals and 26 points, he was drafted tenth overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.[2] Before going overseas to play hockey in North America, Antropov also played in the RSL with Dynamo Moscow.
When Owen Nolan joined the Maple Leafs in March 2003, Antropov changed his number from #11 (Nolan's number for the San Jose Sharks) to #80, the year of his birth. In 2003–04, Leaf coach Pat Quinn formed a line with Joe Nieuwendyk, Alexei Ponikarovsky, and Antropov. This line was dubbed the "Skyline" because of the players' height.
During the NHL lock-out of the 2004–05 season, he returned to the Russian league and played 36 games split between Ak Bars Kazan and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.
However, injuries felled the power forward, and he missed significant time during the 2005–06 season. Antropov managed to produce 12 goals and 19 assists for 31 points in 57 games.
Upon Antropov's return from injury, he added 15 points in the final ten regular-season games of the 2005–06 NHL season. Antropov finished third on the team in even-strength scoring and also led the Leafs in +/- with a +13 rating.
In 2006–07, Antropov typically played alongside team captain Mats Sundin and Ponikarovsky on the top line.
On June 6, 2007, the Maple Leafs announced they had signed Antropov to a two-year contract extension. During a game with the New York Rangers on 6 December 2007, Antropov scored his second career hat-trick and was named the game's first star. In December 2007, a campaign was launched to encourage fans to vote Antropov as a write-in Candidate the 56th National Hockey League All-Star Game in Atlanta.[citation needed]
On February 9, 2008, Antropov set a new career high in goals with 19 when he scored in overtime to give the Leafs a 3–2 win, tipping in an Anton Strålman slapshot — he finished the season with 26 goals.
On March 4, 2009, Antopov was traded to the New York Rangers for a second round draft pick and conditional draft pick.[3] During his tenure with the Leafs, he even became a Canadian citizen.[4]
On July 2, 2009, Antropov signed a four-year, $16.25 million deal with the Atlanta Thrashers as a free agent. He is expected to make $3.5 million the first year, $3.75 million the second, $4.25 million the third, and $4.75 million for the final year of the deal, for an average cap hit of $4.0625 million each year.[5] His first year with the Atlanta Thrashers was his most successful scoring 24 goals and 43 assists.
The team relocated to Winnipeg in the summer of 2011. Antropov had the honor of scoring the first goal of the new Winnipeg Jets on October 9, 2011 against the Montreal Canadiens.
International play
Internationally, Antropov represented Kazakhstan in the 1999 World Junior Championships (earning eight points in six games) and in the recent 2006 Winter Olympics, where he scored one goal. Antropov captained the Kazakhstani squad on both occasions. He and Colorado Avalanche goaltender Vitaly Kolesnik were the lone NHL players on the team.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1998–99 Dynamo Moscow RSL 30 5 9 14 30 11 0 1 1 4 1999–00 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 66 12 18 30 41 3 0 0 0 4 1999–00 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 2 0 0 0 4 — — — — — 2000–01 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 52 6 11 17 30 9 2 1 3 12 2001–02 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 11 1 1 2 4 — — — — — 2001–02 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 34 11 24 35 47 — — — — — 2002–03 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 72 16 29 45 124 3 0 0 0 0 2003–04 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 62 13 18 31 62 13 0 2 2 18 2004–05 Ak Bars Kazan RSL 10 2 3 5 6 — — — — — 2004–05 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl RSL 26 4 15 19 44 9 3 4 7 18 2005–06 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 57 12 19 31 56 — — — — — 2006–07 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 54 18 15 33 44 — — — — — 2007–08 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 72 26 30 56 92 — — — — — 2008–09 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 63 21 25 46 24 — — — — — 2008–09 New York Rangers NHL 18 7 6 13 6 7 2 1 3 6 2009–10 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 76 24 43 67 44 — — — — — 2010–11 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 76 16 25 41 42 — — — — — NHL totals 680 173 240 413 569 35 4 4 8 40 International
Year Team Event GP G A Pts +/− PIM 1999 Kazakhstan Jr. WJC 6 3 5 8 14 2006 Kazakhstan Oly 5 1 0 1 +2 4 References
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4JGMx5l8vg
- ^ Ulmer, Michael (1998-06-29). "Leafs select one from afar: Toronto associate general manager Mike Smith says 18-year-old Kazakhstan native Nikolai Antropov has "world class" hands". Vancouver Sun (Vancouver): p. D. 2.
- ^ "Rangers trade for Antropov, Morris". ESPN. 2009-03-04. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3952538. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
- ^ http://www.faceoff.com/hockey/tradedeadline2009/story.html?id=1353375
- ^ "Team Overview: Atlanta Thrashers". http://www.nhlnumbers.com/overview.php?team=ATL&season=0910. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
External links
- Nik Antropov at TSN.ca
- Nik Antropov's NHL player profile
- Nik Antropov's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
- Nik Antropov – player profile and career stats at European Hockey.Net
Preceded by
Jeff WareToronto Maple Leafs first round draft pick
1998Succeeded by
Luca CeredaCategories:- 1980 births
- Atlanta Thrashers players
- Expatriate ice hockey players in Russia
- Ak Bars Kazan players
- HC Dynamo Moscow players
- Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics
- Kazakhstani expatriates in Canada
- Kazakhstani expatriates in Russia
- Kazakhstani ice hockey players
- Kazakhstani people of Russian descent
- Living people
- Lokomotiv Yaroslavl players
- National Hockey League first round draft picks
- New York Rangers players
- Olympic ice hockey players of Kazakhstan
- People from Oskemen
- St. John's Maple Leafs players
- Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks
- Toronto Maple Leafs players
- Winnipeg Jets players
- Canadian people of Russian descent
- Canadian ice hockey centres
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